Moldovans working abroad send less money home

The Moldovans that work abroad in January sent home through banks $64.89 million, down $24.83 million from last January and $78.77 million from last December, a report by the National Bank of Moldova says, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. The dollars made up 53.2% of the currency sent through money transfer systems, the euros – 41.7%, while the Russian rubles – 5.1%. The previous years, remittances from private individuals grew by a rate of 40.5% a year. Last yearend, remittances decreased considerably. In July, remittances amounted to $180.79 million, while in November to $111.03 million. The remittances last year totaled $1.651 billion, up 35.6% from 2007. The Ministry of Economy and Trade forecasts that this year the remittances could decline by $300-350 million.